Email not being sent

[Pat_J]

Please can someone help explain why my email is not being sent? 

I use an Amazon Fire Tablet and its email client to receive and send BT email. I have used this setup for about 4 years and it has worked reliably well until late March this year.  At that time all email I was sending began getting stuck in the Amazon outbox. This  remained so for about 10 weeks. During that time I also started to experience problems receiving email into BT email, with some of the mail arriving several days after being originally sent. About two weeks ago everything 'magically' returned to normal. Email stuck in the Amazon outbox cleared and received email arrived very soon after being sent. However, the return to normal has has been short-lived as from Monday of this week I find that my email is again getting stuck in the Amazon outbox.

I should point out that before the issue first began I had not changed or attempted to change my BT password, nor had I changed or attempted to change any of my client settings. They have and still now remain the same.  

Is anyone else with the same setup experiencing the same problem?

Grateful for any any advice that can help me resolve the problem.

Thanks & Regards, Pat

[gg30340]

Are you a BT Broadband customer or is your email account a BT Premium email account?

If a BT Broadband customer was the email account set up on your present BT Broadband account?

Can you confirm that the settings you are using are the ones as per this link?

https://www.bt.com/help/email/manage-email-account/manual-settings/what-are-the-settings-for-outgoin...

Are you getting any error messages when it happens?

When the emails are "stuck" in the outbox is there anything to suggest that it is one recipient's email address or the content of an email that is causing the problem?

Can you try when sending an email checking that it has been sent before sending another to try and establish what is triggering the problem.

When the problem happens can you still send and receive using webmail on your browser?

[Pat_J]

Distinguished Sage

Your reply which is much appreciated.

I am a BT broadband customer.

I can confirm that my settings are as per your link.

The only issue seen when sending email is a message saying unable to send email please go to Outbox to force retry. I have attempted the retry, but email remains stuck in the outbox.

I only have a small circle of contacts most of whom are family members that I send to regularly and have done so for years.

As you suggested, I have tried to send a new email - it was to a regular contact. As per all sent email this week it stuck in the Outbox. I then went to my Sent items and selected an email that was successfully sent (and received) to that same contact last week. My intention was to try sending that email again, however, as soon as I opened that email there was a notification that the message could not be sent.

Finally, yes I can send email from the web browser. However, due to poor eyesight, I struggle a great deal to use the browser and find the Amazon client much easier and more practical to use.  Only very recently has using the client become an issue. 

Thanks & Regards, Pat

[gg30340]

This may sound a bit odd but have you tried sending emails from another network ie using a friends connection or tethering your device to your 3/4g phone if you have one?

If it sends OK when you do that I would try a factory reset of your BT hub by pressing a pin into the recess button on the rear for about 20 seconds. 

Once it restarts make sure you turn off "smart setup" on the BT hub.

See link how to do that.

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/44328/~/what-is-smart-setup-on-the-bt-hub%3F-how-can-...

[Pat_J]

Distinguished Sage

Thank you once again.

I haven't tried sending from another network. That is a bit beyond my understanding, but I will ask a family member to try this out for me when it becomes possible. I am in Wales and my family are in England, unable to enter Wales due to its lockdown restrictions. Those may be lifted on 6th July!  Who knows my email may magically start working again by then, just as it did a few weeks ago. I really do think the issue lies outside. I will update this post when I have something new to report.

Thanks & Regards, Pat

[Pat_J · Accepted solution]

Distinguished Sage

I did wonder if my email might magically start sending again, and it has! As of yesterday, two weeks after email began getting stuck in the Amazon Outbox, email is now being sent again and being received by recipients. No notable event(s) preceded the resumption of service, it just started working - email I compose myself and email I reply to. This is exactly the same as when the problem occurred for the first time, early in June.

Regards, Pat

[gg30340]

Glad to hear it has started working again and hopefully it stays working this time. I doubt you will ever find out what caused it other than it is just one of "joys" of using the BT email system.